1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of I 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: Heart Radios, How Stuff Works, Gobble Gobble, and welcome to 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: and there's Jerry Jero Roland. Couldn't come up with anything 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: in the last second, that's all right, and this is 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know about turkeys. Yeah, so I need 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: to just apologize at the beginning of this episode because 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: I could not help and I know I will not 9 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 1: be able to help myself from making Vernon Florida references 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: the Great Great documentary from Errol Morris, one of the 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: prominent about the citizens of Vernon, Florida in the nineteen 12 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: eighties and Inland, Florida, panhandled small town and one of 13 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: the lead characters and in that documentary was Mr Henry Ships. 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: He was a turkey hunter and all he does is 15 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: talk about turkey hunting. And I know it by heart, 16 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: me and all my friends know it by heart, and 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,759 Speaker 1: we quoted a lot. So it's really really hard not 18 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: to just talk like Henry Ships. So I'll try not 19 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: to because it's so random that the people it won't 20 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:17,040 Speaker 1: be worth it for like the hundred people that will 21 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: think that's the best thing ever. I don't know, man, 22 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,199 Speaker 1: I've found over the years that it's good to cater 23 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: those people sometimes too. You know, I might throw in 24 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: an occasionally and I'll explain what I'm talking about maybe, 25 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: But um, we do need to thank the Humane Society 26 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: for what The bulk of this research came from this 27 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 1: really great, great, great article that someone nameless person that 28 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,199 Speaker 1: the Humane Society put together from a list of great, 29 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,320 Speaker 1: great sources. So I was surprised to see something so thorough. 30 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: It was really great. It was written by the mysterious 31 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: Tom t It was really in favor of turkeys suspiciously. 32 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: And now I'm Thanksgiving day two, So we also need 33 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: to apologize for We're not trying to guilt you or 34 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: anything like that. Maybe to listen to this one for 35 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: a week, I will say the chuck like, I'm not 36 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: eating turkey anymore after this. And it's really kind of 37 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,959 Speaker 1: a pain because turkey is my favorite. My favorite meat 38 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: of all time is turkey. I know, I'm sorry. Then, Uh, 39 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: it is tough. I knew turkeys were pretty cool and 40 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: pretty smart, um, but it's it is. It is tough 41 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: to read this stuff and still slice into that bird. Well, 42 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: it's funny to hear that they are smart, because they 43 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: have such a great reputation for being just totally stupid. 44 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: But it turns out that that's really not right at all. 45 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: It's at at best a human misinterpretation, maybe at worst 46 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: cynical um justification for eating them. Um. But one of 47 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: the first things that will remark about turkeys right out 48 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: of the gate, that a lot of people don't know 49 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: is that Ben Franklin was more in favor of turkeys 50 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: as America's national emblem as far as birds go, than 51 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: he was the bald eagle. He had a big problem 52 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: with the fact that um eagles don't necessarily hunt as 53 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: much as bully other birds for whatever they just hunted. Um. 54 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: He said that the eagle does not get his living honestly, 55 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: he steals from the fishawk and it's too lazy to 56 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: fish for himself. The turkey, however, is much more respectable 57 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 1: a true original native, and a turkey would not hesitate 58 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: to attack a grenadier of the British Guard who should 59 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: presume to invade his farmyard. And after researching turkeys, um, 60 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: I daresay he was probably right about that. Yeah, and 61 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: the other thing that I'm surprised he didn't mention was 62 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: and also by the way, male turkeys during the breeding season, 63 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: literally their head and neck turns red white and blue. Yes, 64 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: I noticed that too, Like that is so obvious, such 65 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: an obvious pick. Like at one point during the year, 66 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: you've got a red white and blue bird. Yeah, exactly, 67 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,839 Speaker 1: let's see a bald eagle do so. The other thing, 68 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: the other reason why um, And I think a lot 69 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: of people think that Franklin said that that that that 70 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: needed to be like the Great Seal of the United States, 71 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: and that's not the case. He instead, i think, proposed 72 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: Moses is the Great Seal um, which is odd. But 73 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: another check in Ben Franklin's pro turkey stance is that 74 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 1: turkeys are indigenous to North America and there's actually we're 75 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: down to two species. UM. One the common turkey, which 76 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: is the kind that you or I or anybody else 77 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: living uh north of Mexico are familiar with. UM. They're 78 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: all over the place. They're all over the United States 79 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: and Canada. UM. But the weird thing is there's also 80 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: turkeys in Central and South America, and it turns out 81 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:44,839 Speaker 1: that there are really hardy, adaptable species, and again way 82 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: smarter than than you probably give them credit for. Yeah, 83 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: I mean turkeys they do like warm weather, but there 84 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: they can survive in a lot. Like you said, I 85 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: remember very distinctly when I lived in New Jersey one uh, 86 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: snowy morning looking into my backyard and there were it 87 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,280 Speaker 1: was like a painting or something. There were three deer 88 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: in six wild turkey just walking together through the snow 89 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: in the backyard. And Um, I didn't know that they 90 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: would venture that far north, but they're all over the place. 91 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: Um they are. Uh did you say the name of 92 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: the ones in Mexico? The oscillated turkeys in the Yucatan 93 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: Peninsula and Guatemala and Belize. They are different looking than 94 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: the turkeys we know. They're smaller, a little shorter, they 95 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: have sort of a copper bronze copper bronze green plumage. 96 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 1: And I think the male turkeys have larger spurs and 97 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: do not have beards. And will explain what all that 98 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: is in a minute. Yeah, So if you're talking, if 99 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: you're talking turkey, specifically male turkey, another term former gobblers 100 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:59,159 Speaker 1: or tom's for young young males, they're called Jake's. Love 101 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: that and then adult females are hens, and then hatchlings 102 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: babies of both sexes um are called poults p o 103 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: u l ts. Yeah, the adult female is going to 104 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 1: be about eight to eleven pounds, adult males about seventeen 105 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: to twenty one. Um. We mentioned you know, if you 106 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: look at a turkey, they've got all kinds of crazy 107 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: stuff going on on their head. They look they look like, 108 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: you know, something from a zombie movie. And and every 109 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: single adult turkey has what's called carnicles, a snood sounds 110 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: like Dr Seuss, and a do and a dow lap. 111 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: The carnicles are those those big fleshy things at the 112 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: bottom of the neck. The snood is the stuff that 113 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:43,840 Speaker 1: protrudes from the top of the head and sort of 114 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: flaps over across the bill. And then that do lap 115 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 1: is that little thin skin under the throat that's so 116 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: uh tuggable. Yeah. And if it's just one thing of 117 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: skin that goes vertically down the neck in the front, 118 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: it's a do lap. If it has more than one, um, 119 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: it's called the wattle. But these these things, the coronicles, 120 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: the snood, and the dow lap are the things that 121 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: make turkeys outrageously ugly to humans. But ironically those are 122 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: the things that attract other turkeys. They like you said, 123 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: change color. They're unique to each turkey. Um, and they 124 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: are are like apparently if you're a female turkey, you're 125 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: looking for a guy with a longer snood. That's an 126 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: attractive thing to you. So I just find that really 127 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: great that like we're like that. It's just those things 128 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: are just so ugly. They could stop clock and to 129 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: the turkey, it's like, man, nice snood, buddy, you're looking good. Yeah. 130 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: And I think chronicle, snood and dow lap would be 131 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: like a great name for a comedy bluegrass trio that 132 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: would be on he Hall or something. Oh my. Uh 133 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: So the beard that I mentioned to Uma with Burning 134 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: Florida reference no no um. For most turkey strains, the 135 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: males are the only ones who have a beard, and 136 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: that is this. It's a feather. It's a modified feather 137 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: sort of in the upper chest that keeps growing. It's 138 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: like a you know, if you have a one of 139 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: those rat tails actually want to grow out for life. 140 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: A lot of heat Hall references. I guess they grow 141 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: about three to five inches a year. And if Vernon 142 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: Florida is to be um is for in Florida, is correct? 143 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: Then Mr Ships would point out that the longer the beard, 144 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 1: the more sort of prize trophy it is. If you're 145 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: a turkey hunter, like that'd be akin to a large 146 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: rack of antlers because they mount the beard on a 147 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: little plaque. Um right. Uh. The other thing about male 148 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: turkeys that you can differentiate from a female, Um, Well, 149 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: females have feathers that go up the back of their head, 150 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: so it looks like they have a little mullet going on. 151 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: Males do not. They have a bear head. And then 152 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: males also have spurs like um do claws almost coming 153 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: off of their legs and uh, hands typically don't right, 154 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: And like I said, those males during breeding season they turn. 155 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: The carnicles go red, the white is the crown of 156 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: the head, and then the neck on the side of 157 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: the face go blue. And there's just nothing more American 158 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: than that. It's true. But that's just the gobblers, right. 159 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: The hands don't turn. Yeah, so um, like you said, 160 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: and I think I said first, you can find turkeys 161 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: all over the place and all sorts of different conditions. Um, 162 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: whether it's hot out, whether it's covered in snow, whether 163 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: there's deer around, who cares. Turkeys are down for hanging out. Um. 164 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: They just need, or I should say, prefer, certain kinds 165 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: of habitats um huge trees in a mature forest, and 166 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: typically they want mass bearing trees and mast. I don't 167 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: remember what we were talking about recently. Oh, I think 168 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: it was squirrels hiding nuts. Mast is like one of 169 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,439 Speaker 1: my favorite words of all time. It's just so earthy 170 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 1: and natural. I just love it. Um. But it means 171 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: like acorns and um, like tree nuts that that you 172 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: can find in North America. And that's one of the 173 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: things that turkeys e. So they need lots of trees 174 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:25,199 Speaker 1: that have lots of masts. And the other thing is 175 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: that trees are roosting sites turkeys. Although they're not typically 176 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,680 Speaker 1: thought of as able to fly, they can't fly for 177 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 1: short distances and they roost in trees at night, which 178 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: I don't think I've ever seen a turkey in a tree. 179 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: I haven't either. Um, you know, I see turkeys quite 180 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: a bit on the side of the road or taking 181 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: hikes and stuff like that. But I guess it's because 182 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: at night. I'm not hiking at night that I have 183 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: never seen a turkey in a tree. Well, sure, yeah, 184 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: because they're diurnal, right, Well, yeah, I'm just saying that 185 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 1: that must be the reason. Like I always see turkey 186 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 1: sort of just pecking around on the trail. I think 187 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: that's the I was laughing because you said you made 188 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: it sound like the turkeys were hiking going on. Well, 189 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: they're technically, I guess I can see in with like 190 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: big chunky socks on and vast boots. Just being all serious, 191 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: but you mentioned their range. Their home range is what 192 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,560 Speaker 1: it's called, and their home range is dictated by how 193 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: much food is around, how much of that mast is around, 194 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: and if they you know, they have pretty big ranges anyway, 195 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: but if there's a lot of food around, then they 196 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: may maintain like four hundred to a thousand acres, which 197 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: is huge, and that's if it's abundant. If they don't 198 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: have a lot of food around, they have been known 199 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: to maintain ranges of eight thousand acres or more and 200 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: travel up to fifty miles to different home ranges if 201 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: they can't, like they don't, uh, technically they don't migrate. 202 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: But the birds maintaining eight thousand acres and traveling fifty 203 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: miles they're they're migrating around kind of. Yeah, but I 204 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: mean that must be a really poor habitat because turkeys 205 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: are not picky eaters. Um. In addition to mast, they'll 206 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: eat everything from seeds to lizards and basically anything they 207 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: find that chock full of protein. They typically like things 208 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 1: like seeds, plants, fruit berries, that kind of stuff. But 209 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: they'll eat live animals um. Lead snake, Yeah, they lead 210 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: a snake. They'll lead into crazy yep. And and and then 211 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: particular when a turkey is born, the young turkey, the 212 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 1: poult for the first week or two of their life, 213 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: they're eating nothing but insects constantly. Yeah, And you know 214 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,440 Speaker 1: that's why they prefer a range. Uh. They like that forest, 215 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: but they like the forest on the edge of some 216 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,680 Speaker 1: grassy areas because that moves them. They get some closer 217 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: to those little insects that you're going to find for 218 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: those pols, right exactly. And that's actually where pols are 219 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: born and raised is in the grassy area at the 220 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: edge of a forest, which is pretty cool and just 221 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: quaint is all get out. It's so it's like cottage 222 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: core for animals, you know. Yeah. Uh, if you think 223 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: you that they may need to live near a lake 224 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: or something to get their water, or a river or 225 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: stream or any kind of wetland. You're wrong. Um, I'm 226 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: sure they love that kind of scenery, but they don't 227 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: need it for water. They can get water their water 228 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,199 Speaker 1: intake from vegetation. They can get it from that morning 229 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: do um, succulent insects, little small pools. Um. They can 230 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 1: kind of forage through all that stuff to get enough water. Yeah. 231 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: I mean, like when there's like a lot of snow 232 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: on the ground, they don't hiberdate or anything, but they 233 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: go into like this kind of like uh, just hanging 234 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: around the tree for chill mode time. Yeah, chill mode 235 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: for sure. And the water intake is just a little 236 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: bit of snow that they're eating off of the tree, 237 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 1: and the food is maybe just a butt or two 238 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,280 Speaker 1: that they can find on the tree they're sitting on. Yeah, 239 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: and you know they do well. Turkeys are thriving, They 240 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: eat a lot. They One thing you will not see 241 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 1: very much unless they're sick is a skinny turkey under nurse. 242 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: Turkeys are pretty rare, like I said, unless there's some 243 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,839 Speaker 1: sort of disease or maybe if it's like in the 244 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,839 Speaker 1: middle of a really really long winter, they might the 245 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: thin up a little bit. But turkeys eat a lot 246 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:06,319 Speaker 1: and they're they're generally pretty healthy and plump, right. Um. 247 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: So like we said, they're diurnal, right, they they are 248 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: active during the day just like us humans. Uh. And 249 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: you said they eat a lot, So they spend a 250 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: significant amount of time eating. Um. And when they eat, 251 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,440 Speaker 1: they'll eat just about anything they can come across. But 252 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 1: when they eat, they eat the thing that they're eating whole, 253 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: especially if it's something soft like a berry. Right, they 254 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: just swallow a whole. It gets digested along the way 255 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 1: and they poop out whatever is left on the other side. 256 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: But they also eat things like seeds and nuts and 257 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: mass um. And they have a gizzard, which is like 258 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:45,000 Speaker 1: a second stomach that hard stuff gets diverted to, and 259 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: it's this stomach is basically all muscle, and they also 260 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: eat while they're pecking around for food. They also eat 261 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: little pebbles and stones and bits of like hard things 262 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 1: like bone, and those things stay in their gizzard and 263 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,840 Speaker 1: they become what are called gastro stones or gizzard stones, 264 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: and they end up basically like a rock tumbler that 265 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: crushes up things like seeds and mass that can then 266 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: be diverted over to the regular stomach for digestion, which 267 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 1: is pretty cool. Yeah. Another reason that I kind of 268 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,440 Speaker 1: identify with turkeys is that they they do chill a lot. 269 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: They they get busy feeding and stuff and exploring around, 270 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: scraping around, pecking around at the ground. But after they 271 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 1: have eaten, they hang around for hours at a time. 272 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: They will preen. They will it's called dusting when they 273 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: just sort of move around in the loose soil. It's 274 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,280 Speaker 1: a dirt bath. Yeah, and they kind of just rest 275 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: basically until a few hours before sunset and then they 276 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: start feeding again. And then this is this is amazing. 277 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: So right before nightfall though, they go back to those 278 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: trees at night to sleep. And if they get caught 279 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: sort of unaware, it's sort of like a vampire and 280 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 1: they look up and that sun's going down, they will 281 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: haul but back to their tree. Like they can run 282 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: tended twenty miles an hour and fly in short bursts 283 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: up to fifty five to get back to those trees. 284 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: Because one sundown comes if they're not in their little 285 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:19,480 Speaker 1: homestead which offers a lot of protection there. Uh, they're 286 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: in big time. Danger for predators. Can you just see 287 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: a turkey like running back like gobble gobble gobble gobble 288 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: gobble gobble cobble babies. So um. What's what I find 289 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: interesting about them too, is is a lot of people 290 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: don't realize turkeys are extremely good at seeing and hearing. 291 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: We don't think that they're very good at smelling, but 292 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: their sight and their hearing are so amazing that it 293 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: really doesn't matter about the smell um. Apparently, they have 294 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 1: three times the acuity of the average humans eyesight um 295 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,400 Speaker 1: and then in addition to that, they also see in color, 296 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: which is rare for a bird um. And they also 297 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: have between a two hundred and seventy and a three 298 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: hundred degree field of vision humans have about a hundred eighty. 299 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: And the reason why they can see so much around 300 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: them is because the turkey's eyes are on the side 301 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:13,360 Speaker 1: of its head, which, on the one hand, gives them 302 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: a disadvantage. They don't have binocular vision like humans do, 303 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: so they have terrible depth perception, which is why you'll 304 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: see footage of a turkey looking at something and it'll 305 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: switch sides of its face that it's looking at you 306 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: because it's trying to discern depth that way, just kind 307 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: of quickly creating binocular vision like a flip book. But 308 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: what it lacks in binocular vision, it makes up for 309 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 1: with its incredible hearing because they're hearing is such they 310 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 1: can identify the location of a sound really, really well. 311 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: So they might not be able to see depth, but 312 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: they can hear depth in addition to all the amazing 313 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 1: stuff that they can see. You think we should take 314 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: a break. I just that's fine. I'm just gonna keep 315 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: talking through the break because I'm just so in love 316 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: with turkeys right now. All right, we'll be right. So, 317 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:28,440 Speaker 1: you know, before the break you were talking about their 318 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: hearing um in Vernon, Florida. Which have you seen that yet? Still? 319 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 1: I know I have not gott I see it. Okay. 320 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: It's one of the one of the great um documentaries, 321 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: that is. But Mr Ship's really gives the like when 322 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: you listen to this man talk and I'm not a 323 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 1: hunter at all, but you really get a sense that 324 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: turkey hunting is one of the most challenging hunts that 325 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: you can undertake because of how smart, uh, how smart 326 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 1: they are and he he says, they're a smart boyd. 327 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,400 Speaker 1: He's one of those guys always like that. Yeah yeah, 328 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,439 Speaker 1: but um, how smart they are, and then that hearing 329 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: like you have to be so quiet and so all 330 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,680 Speaker 1: of your movements have to be so deliberate, and even 331 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: the slightest like cracking of a stick, that turkey will 332 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: poke his head up and then just be gone out 333 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: of there. So um, although I'm not a hunter at 334 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: all and and don't would never shoot an animal, when 335 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 1: you listen to this guy, you can't help but be 336 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:27,440 Speaker 1: sort of impressed with or maybe you just fall under 337 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: his spell. How much he loved it, I don't know. 338 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 1: So um yeah, so turkeys are really good at hearing, 339 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: they're really good at seeing, and they're easily spooked, which 340 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 1: all combined makes them very difficult to hunt. Yes, yeah 341 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: so uh as far as um, they're flocking and and 342 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: their behaviors. They live in separate flocks, the hens and 343 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: the toms do. And then once the spring comes around 344 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: and the days get longer, and then the warmer temperatures 345 00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:00,080 Speaker 1: sort of start coming in, then the males are to 346 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 1: leave their winter flocks and they're gonna start you know, 347 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: now it's it's time to party basically with the hens, 348 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 1: and they're gonna start, Like many animals, there are a 349 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: lot of rituals of trying to get their attention. They're gobbling. 350 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: They have a peak, a couple of peaks in gobbling, 351 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:18,439 Speaker 1: and the first one is at the very beginning of 352 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:20,760 Speaker 1: the breeding season, when there are a lot of hens 353 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: around and you're, you know, you're trying to make yourself 354 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 1: known as a worthy mail. Then you're gonna have a 355 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: second flock. After are most of the mating has taken place, 356 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: there are a lot less gobbling going on. And but 357 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: those males who didn't mate, or maybe they did, and 358 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: they're they're really trying to have another party. Basically that's 359 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,159 Speaker 1: when their second peak is going to happen, right, But 360 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 1: in between those two peaks, there's less gobbling because by 361 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: that time the hens are like, all right, I'm into this, 362 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: so the males don't have to try as hard. And 363 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: apparently that second peak in gobbling is kind of the 364 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,880 Speaker 1: more desperate. It's like a um, you know, at one 365 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: fifty am at the bar, Oh totally, it's like does 366 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:08,359 Speaker 1: anyone anyone still want a party? Basically anybody around, but 367 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 1: you got to do it like the Night of the 368 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:15,399 Speaker 1: Roxbury guys. But they're saying instead of him him, him, 369 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: I think it's Tom ken and will mate with multiple hens, 370 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:24,320 Speaker 1: and hens actually may breed with the same mail more 371 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:27,440 Speaker 1: than once. I don't think anyone has made any argument 372 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,560 Speaker 1: that they're in love, but you never know. Let's say, 373 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: at the very least they have chemistry. They're also polygamous. 374 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: If you're in eastern wild Turkey, they think that they 375 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 1: sort of have a harem basically where you have a 376 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: bunch of different hens with one Tom until they've made it. Uh. 377 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: If you are out west, you might see what's called 378 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 1: a lek like system l e K, which is um, 379 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 1: it's basically ah, I mean it's sort of group mating 380 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 1: in group uh, group gobbling, like a bunch of Tom's 381 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:04,199 Speaker 1: will get together and sort of cobble together a lot 382 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,159 Speaker 1: of times. A group of siblings, like you know that, 383 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,160 Speaker 1: you know those Carter boys, they get together and put 384 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:11,360 Speaker 1: on quite a show for the ladies, that kind of thing. 385 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: And that actually makes sense. Um, the harem makes sense 386 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 1: because there's just such an abundance of turkeys that one 387 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: one Jake, you know, one Tom can mate with multiple 388 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: hands all at once, and you know the species continues. 389 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: But where it's more spread out for them to all 390 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 1: kind of come to one place. It makes sense because 391 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: it's much more convenient. Um. But also because all these 392 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: different displays of like manliness of tomliness, I guess um 393 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: really gets the hens in the mood. So it kind 394 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,720 Speaker 1: of gets them prepared for mating much more quickly and 395 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: efficiently too, which is a real advantage of the of 396 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,200 Speaker 1: the lex system. Yeah, and you actually did not misspeak 397 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: because Jake's can mate. Um, they're just way less successful 398 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 1: because they're Jake's. I met. Maybe there's some hens that 399 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: sit around and say, like, you know, I'm really more 400 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: into Jake's than Tom's because it was like Nancy, well, 401 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: I never um, but they do. Jake's actually can mate, 402 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 1: but you know, because it's because they are. They attract 403 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,400 Speaker 1: females by those big shows and the best gobbles. They're 404 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: just usually not quite there yet. Yeah, and we'll talk 405 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 1: a little bit about I love if we always set 406 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: up like all the stuff we're gonna talk about in 407 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: every episode and then we actually talk about like maybe 408 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: seventy of it. But um, there's actually there's hierarchies and 409 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,400 Speaker 1: turkey flocks which we'll talk about. But um, when like 410 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: the Carter brothers show up, or there's young Jake's and 411 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: older ones um. Depending on the dominance of the turkey, 412 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: that turkey is much more likely to actually mate. But 413 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,879 Speaker 1: all the turkeys will be strutting their stuff, getting the 414 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 1: hens in the mood. It's really kind of this communal thing, 415 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,120 Speaker 1: and that's that actually makes sense because turkeys, it turns out, 416 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: are super super social animals um. Which makes the fact 417 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: that the hens once they have made it uh and 418 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: go off to lay the eggs um, they do that themselves. 419 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: It's basically the one thing they do as individuals UM. 420 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: But they do like basically two a hand. They will 421 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 1: go off, they will find a nice grassy area at 422 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: the entrance of a nice um wood um, and they 423 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: will start laying eggs, and they'll lay one egg and 424 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:26,880 Speaker 1: cover it up and then leave, and the next day, 425 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,680 Speaker 1: usually about the same time, weirdly, they come back and 426 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 1: lay another egg, covered up, and then as they start 427 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: laying more and more eggs, they kind of reach like 428 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: this critical threshold to where they're like, Okay, I'm I'm 429 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: emotionally invested in these eggs. Now, I'm just gonna stay 430 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 1: around here and guard them. And then eventually incubate them, 431 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 1: and they do, and then about twenty four hours before 432 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: the eggs start to hatch chuck. They actually start making 433 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: um sounds, basically saying I'm I'm about to come out now. Yeah, 434 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: it's really cute. Uh, this little pipping sounds and this 435 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,600 Speaker 1: pecking with and this is one of the cutest words 436 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: I've ever seen. The first little hole uh that these 437 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,239 Speaker 1: things make from within the egg to get out is 438 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,200 Speaker 1: made with an egg tooth. How cute is that? It 439 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 1: is very cute, But I mean the fact, can you 440 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:17,680 Speaker 1: imagine seeing a little turkey egg pipping it's it's probably amazing. 441 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: And I know the hen is entrance because the hen 442 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: starts to make a little encouraging clucks like come along, 443 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: little fellows, let's get on out, Let's get on out. 444 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,679 Speaker 1: And it could take about a day for all these 445 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: um polts to hatch, and they are very mobile from 446 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,240 Speaker 1: the time they're hatched, but they are also very closely 447 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: bonded to mama hen and the siblings for a little while, um, 448 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:43,679 Speaker 1: a pretty short while. For a couple of days, they 449 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 1: all sit around together. They um, they imprint on one 450 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,119 Speaker 1: another and they one of the big things that they 451 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: do is they learn what mama sounds like. We'll get 452 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,520 Speaker 1: to the calls later, but there's something card called an 453 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: alarm call, which is exactly what you think it is. 454 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,040 Speaker 1: It's very very important way to say, hey, everybody, get 455 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:05,680 Speaker 1: out of here. There's a you know, there's a raccoon 456 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: or a or a bobcat in the woods or something. 457 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,120 Speaker 1: And they have to learn their own mother's alarm call. 458 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,199 Speaker 1: And that's what they're doing in large part for those 459 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 1: first couple of days. Yeah, and within the first couple 460 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 1: of days and actually, um, a couple of weeks, they 461 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 1: can't fly, so they're real vulnerable because remember the mom 462 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 1: nests in in like grassland, not in the trees. Um. 463 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,159 Speaker 1: So until they can fly, they can't roost in trees. 464 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: So they're they're big defense is to just scatter and 465 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:40,679 Speaker 1: stay still. Yeah, and like as in frozen still for 466 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: up to a half an hour. If they hear that 467 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 1: alarm call. These little baby turkeys will just freeze like mannequins. 468 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,440 Speaker 1: It's amazing, it is amazing. Um. One of the things 469 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: when a mother hen gives birth to a brood of poults, 470 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: they're usually there's a one to one ratio between males 471 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:05,359 Speaker 1: and females, between jakes and baby hens, which I found 472 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:10,239 Speaker 1: pretty amazing unless chuck something else happens. Yeah, this is 473 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 1: you know. I feel like usually when we cover animals 474 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: there's always one really astounding adaptation that we cover a 475 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: lot of times more than one. But in the case 476 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:23,919 Speaker 1: of turkeys, they these hens. If they don't find a 477 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 1: mate and don't mate, they can still have little babies 478 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:32,720 Speaker 1: through parthenogenesis. They can produce viable eggs. It doesn't happen 479 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:37,919 Speaker 1: a lot, it seems like, and the embryos um I 480 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 1: think very few of them survive, but it is it 481 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,399 Speaker 1: is medically impossible for a hen to to produce a 482 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: little baby eggs and have one. And if they do 483 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: have one and it actually lives, it is going to 484 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: be a male hatchling always, which is counterintuitive to me. 485 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: I think if it's an eleven uh, if it's an 486 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 1: evolution anary adaptation, would seem like they would be female. Yeah, 487 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 1: I don't know, but it's like bees, like, aren't aren't 488 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: n unfertilized be eggs don't they turn into male drones 489 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 1: And it's just the fertilized ones that become female workers. 490 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,640 Speaker 1: I don't remember. I'm pretty sure if I remember correctly. 491 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: So it's weird that it would it would happen like that, 492 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: But yeah, that's a pretty rare occurrence, that parton a genesis, 493 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:31,159 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, So, um, now you've got all the 494 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:33,879 Speaker 1: all the little pols have hatched, and they've they've been 495 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,720 Speaker 1: running around eating bugs in the grass, and it's been 496 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: about seventeen days and now they can fly. So they're 497 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: starting to roost in the tree. And at first, adorably, 498 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: they're still scared little babies, so they roost under their 499 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 1: mother's wing at night. But as they get a little 500 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: more confident, they'll start to spread out into some of 501 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: the surrounding branches of the tree and the roost um. 502 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,160 Speaker 1: And what you've got now is a new flock of turkeys. 503 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 1: But like I was saying, turkeys are extremely social creachers, 504 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: so those flocks typically tend to join other flocks, especially 505 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,640 Speaker 1: mother hens with new poults, they'll live with other flocks 506 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: of um mother hens with their own pulse, and they'll 507 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: become these kind of like huge mega flocks where you know, 508 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: if you walk through at night, it seemed like every 509 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: branch of every tree around you was filled with turkeys, 510 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: and that would happen probably sometime in the spring, like 511 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: the early mid spring, after the eggs have hatched and 512 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,120 Speaker 1: the babies are all now roosting in the trees with 513 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 1: their moms. Yeah, and here's another one that really tugged 514 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,080 Speaker 1: on my heart strings a lot of times. Once they 515 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,200 Speaker 1: have joined these other flocks, if you are the only 516 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: if you don't have any siblings, if you're the only 517 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:46,760 Speaker 1: survivor of your hatch, um, you will oftentimes take up 518 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: with another mother hen and they will sort of adopt 519 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: you into their little family so you can have siblings. 520 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: And if that doesn't knock your socks off, they also 521 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: adopt the original mom to come along. Yeah, me too. Basically, 522 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,360 Speaker 1: they are just like, come and join our family. You 523 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: only had one little baby that lived, and they need 524 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:10,680 Speaker 1: some siblings, So why don't you and your in your 525 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,280 Speaker 1: little hatchling come along and your little polt and join us, 526 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:19,880 Speaker 1: Come have Thanksgiving with us. That's they don't say that word. So, um, 527 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: you've got the T word is what they say. Yeah, 528 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 1: T day. Um. So there's there's that's one kind of flock. 529 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 1: There's also a lot of um Like the Jake's the 530 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 1: young males in the um. That flock will continue to 531 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: stay until I believe the fall and they'll leave and 532 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: they'll go for mother flocks with other jake's and sometimes 533 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: um older gobblers and UM especially with their siblings too. 534 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 1: They'll hang out with them UM and then it'll the 535 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,280 Speaker 1: young hands and the mother hans will stay together and 536 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: form their own flocks. So there's different flocks. But turkeys 537 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 1: are so social that they've been found too. If you 538 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 1: take a bird a turkey from its flock and put 539 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 1: it somewhere else, it'll base really just stand in one 540 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 1: spot and make a scared sound until you take the 541 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 1: turkey and put it back with its flock. Like they 542 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 1: have been shown to be basically debilitated when they removed 543 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: from their flock. And I was watching this video UM 544 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 1: called turkey and dog best friends are inseparable. Those are 545 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,720 Speaker 1: the best things on the internet. So this turkey and 546 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: this dog, like, seriously, we're housemates, friends, like really great friends. 547 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: And the woman who adopted the turkey, I think as 548 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: a poult um was like, well, you know, the turkey 549 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 1: needs to be on a farm with other turkeys, so 550 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,800 Speaker 1: she took it to a farm to go live its 551 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 1: life as a turkey on a turkey farm. And it 552 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:41,920 Speaker 1: did the same thing that I've just described. It just 553 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: stood in one spot in the barnyard and made this 554 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,880 Speaker 1: horrible call for I think three days. She let it 555 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 1: go on and finally was like, fine, come back home. 556 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 1: Right when she got it back home with the dog, 557 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 1: the turkey stopped and was back home and has been 558 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:58,720 Speaker 1: there ever since. It's definitely worth watching that video. That 559 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 1: will if you're like, I don't know, I still like 560 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:03,720 Speaker 1: to eat turkeys, and once you watch that one, that's 561 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 1: that's gonna be it for you. Pal. You can't eat 562 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,960 Speaker 1: turkeys or dogs anymore. No, I can't eat pigs either. 563 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 1: So another I guess we mentioned the alarm call. Turkeys 564 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 1: have an astounding ability to communicate with each other. They 565 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: have a lot of different vocalizations. Mr Henry Ship's talks 566 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,800 Speaker 1: about a lot of those, the different kinds of gobbles 567 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 1: that a turkey hunter has to be acquainted with and 568 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:31,840 Speaker 1: make yourself to uh to attract turkeys. But there he 569 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,719 Speaker 1: calls them yeps. Of course, there are three kinds of yelps. 570 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 1: There's the tree yelp, the plane yelp, and the plane 571 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 1: lost call uh and then there are a couple of 572 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 1: basic calls, the clock and the alarm put and then 573 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:48,520 Speaker 1: a few other just uh complex calls. There's the cackle 574 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:52,000 Speaker 1: of the gobble and what's called the ki ki, But 575 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 1: that tree yelp is what they're gonna make that sort 576 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: of their morning routine. The first thing they do in 577 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:01,000 Speaker 1: the morning is start tree yelping, and it's basically like, hey, everybody, 578 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 1: good morning, how did you sleep, Good morning? Good morning. 579 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,959 Speaker 1: There's the plane yelp, which is like, um, like just 580 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: during the day, if you want to say, hey, everybody, 581 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 1: let's let's come huddle up over here. Because when they 582 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:18,160 Speaker 1: eat as a flock, they might spread out over a 583 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: quarter acre, but we've seen that they will always have 584 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 1: at least one constantly looking out and they'll trade that 585 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,760 Speaker 1: job off, but there's always at least one bird looking 586 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:30,360 Speaker 1: out for the rest of the flock ready to make. 587 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 1: A call. Might be a plane plane yelp, it might 588 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:35,600 Speaker 1: be an alarm putt, but whatever that that is, it's 589 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: going to get the bird's attention very quickly. Right then 590 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,440 Speaker 1: you have that plane lost call. It's sort of like 591 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,480 Speaker 1: the plane yelp, but it's usually louder. It's got some 592 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 1: more urgency to it, um, and that they think is 593 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,239 Speaker 1: more for family. It's like, hey, you and all your 594 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:56,240 Speaker 1: brothers and sisters, get over here. Toot sweet yeah. Um. 595 00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 1: There's also what else? The cluck, which is to say, hey, hey, chuck, cluck, cluck, cluck, chuck, 596 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:08,080 Speaker 1: you look up what and I say, I forgot. I 597 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,880 Speaker 1: was gonna say, you go back to eating. I just 598 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 1: said specific to a person, meaning a turkey person, right, 599 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:18,880 Speaker 1: a tom or a him. Um, there's that alarm put 600 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:21,720 Speaker 1: put which is basically like, hey, everybody, there's something weird 601 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 1: going on. The kiki is if a little poult or 602 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:28,120 Speaker 1: a younger turkey is a little worried and wants to 603 00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:31,439 Speaker 1: be reassured or what, doesn't know where everybody is. That's 604 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: probably a pretty cute one. I listened to some of 605 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:38,320 Speaker 1: these and um, they're not they're not. It's not on 606 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:41,319 Speaker 1: a monopeia Like the ki ki doesn't sound like a 607 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,520 Speaker 1: key key to me. I don't know what they're talking about, 608 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:46,840 Speaker 1: but it sounds like a wine almost. It's weird. And 609 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:50,799 Speaker 1: then you have the cackle, which, um, that's sort of 610 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 1: like hello and goodbye when you're coming into your rooster. 611 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:56,280 Speaker 1: You're leaving in your roost, you're gonna cackle and say 612 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:02,200 Speaker 1: I'm here, all right. Gobble. Everybody knows the gobble. But 613 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: it turns out that's actually not that frequent a sound. 614 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,080 Speaker 1: It's one of the least frequent sounds they make because 615 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:11,320 Speaker 1: it's typically made by Tom's when they're strutting their stuff 616 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,359 Speaker 1: for you know, mating to you know, get it on, 617 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:20,800 Speaker 1: literally strutting their stuff right. Um. And then here is 618 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 1: one of the facts of this chock full of fact podcasts. 619 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:29,359 Speaker 1: Turkeys per and when they purr, it's quite obvious they're 620 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:33,960 Speaker 1: purring with contentment, exactly like a cat. Yeah, it's pretty neat. 621 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,440 Speaker 1: I saw another video of a turkey being stroked and 622 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:40,440 Speaker 1: petted and it just crawled up on the person's lap purring. 623 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,000 Speaker 1: So the other thing when they're when they've laid these 624 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,480 Speaker 1: eggs and everything they and incubating, they will turn them periodically, 625 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:50,800 Speaker 1: which is really great. And they're what they're doing that 626 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:54,760 Speaker 1: is they're letting these letting the exchange oxygen and CEO 627 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:57,840 Speaker 1: two as well as they think. And this makes a 628 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,400 Speaker 1: lot of sense, keeping the little embryo from attaching to 629 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:05,000 Speaker 1: one side of the egg. So if it starts to attach. 630 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,839 Speaker 1: They'll just turn it and then it'll flop down and 631 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:11,920 Speaker 1: not attach itself. And then there's also re nesting right 632 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,120 Speaker 1: there is, which is basically like if the if the 633 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:19,200 Speaker 1: turkey is disturbed during the nesting process, she may go 634 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,960 Speaker 1: off and create a new nest. I get the impression 635 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:24,960 Speaker 1: of the other eggs are abandoned, um or Remember we 636 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:28,240 Speaker 1: said that she is emotionally invested after a certain point. 637 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:31,279 Speaker 1: If she's disturbed, then she just abandons the nest and 638 00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:35,359 Speaker 1: doesn't do anymore nesting that season, which is very sad. Yeah, 639 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:38,400 Speaker 1: that's super sad. So you want to take a break, 640 00:36:39,200 --> 00:37:09,239 Speaker 1: let's do it. Okay, we'll be right back, everybody, So Chuck, 641 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: I think at the beginning I was saying that turkeys 642 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:15,240 Speaker 1: are way more intelligent than we think, and that's true, 643 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,600 Speaker 1: right They a smart boy, one of the smartest we 644 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:23,920 Speaker 1: got in this country. That's a good, good vern In Florida. 645 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 1: He's passed on, by the way, one of the cool uh. 646 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:31,239 Speaker 1: And if you're interested in that movie, go see it. 647 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:34,239 Speaker 1: And there's also a movie Crush episode where one of 648 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,359 Speaker 1: my really really good friends, Mike comes on and talks 649 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:40,880 Speaker 1: about vern In Florida and he actually struck up a 650 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:44,960 Speaker 1: friendship with Henry Ship's via telephone for the remainder of 651 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:49,359 Speaker 1: his life. Oh that's neat. That's a long telephone call. Well, 652 00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:52,080 Speaker 1: they talked off and on quite a bit. It was 653 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:55,000 Speaker 1: really special. Yeah, I guess that's cool man. That's so 654 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: he just called him out of the blue. Yeah, he 655 00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:59,239 Speaker 1: and Henry, he would call him up, Well, hey, Mike, 656 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 1: how are you doing. But and this was twenty something 657 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:04,920 Speaker 1: years after run in Florida was from the I think 658 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:08,080 Speaker 1: early nineties or maybe even late eighties, and so he 659 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 1: just you know, he got a kick out of it 660 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:12,720 Speaker 1: that that Mike thought he was famous. That's cool. That's 661 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,520 Speaker 1: cool man. So you never answered my Oh yeah, you 662 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:17,960 Speaker 1: did kind of answer my question. Turkeys are rather smart. 663 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:23,240 Speaker 1: There's a a longstanding myth that turkeys are so stupid 664 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,480 Speaker 1: they'll actually drown when it's raining because they look up 665 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,000 Speaker 1: at the rain and the rain falls down their gullet 666 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:33,600 Speaker 1: and draw them. That that's true. I've heard that before. 667 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:36,360 Speaker 1: H it's true that there's a myth. The myth itself 668 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:40,760 Speaker 1: is totally totally wrong. Um, that's been observed. Something similar 669 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:44,880 Speaker 1: has been observed mistakenly in domesticated birds, meaning like factory 670 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,200 Speaker 1: farm turkeys, and um, they've actually shown that if that 671 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:52,279 Speaker 1: has ever happened, it's not the turkey looking up to 672 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:55,120 Speaker 1: see the rain, because the turkey wouldn't look up to 673 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:58,680 Speaker 1: see something above. It would look from the side of 674 00:38:58,719 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 1: its head because it has mon pocular vision yea, so 675 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:03,840 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be looking at the rain. And if it 676 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,160 Speaker 1: is looking up and has ever drowned or something or 677 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:07,879 Speaker 1: seemed to have drowned, it was because it was having 678 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,839 Speaker 1: a certain kind of seizure that apparently domesticated factory farm 679 00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:16,600 Speaker 1: turkeys have as a general condition. They have seizures and 680 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:20,560 Speaker 1: actually die from those kind of seizures fairly frequently. So 681 00:39:20,719 --> 00:39:24,640 Speaker 1: they think some farm worker saw turkey have a seizure 682 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,839 Speaker 1: while I was looking up while it was raining and 683 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:30,359 Speaker 1: died and that actually might have given birth to this 684 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:38,440 Speaker 1: incredibly wrong myth. It turns out that was my cousin. Uh. 685 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,400 Speaker 1: They are smart and they have great memories, which is 686 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:43,960 Speaker 1: you know, in the animal kingdom, memory is is a 687 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:46,799 Speaker 1: is an interesting thing and a lot of times a 688 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:50,479 Speaker 1: pretty good indicator of intelligence and just something more going 689 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,960 Speaker 1: on there. Uh. Whild turkeys have a great memory. They 690 00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:58,279 Speaker 1: can remember very precise locations. They can go back to 691 00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:02,080 Speaker 1: the same location miles away at the same exact time 692 00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:05,120 Speaker 1: of day to get food, so they have a really 693 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:08,240 Speaker 1: good internal clock as well. And uh hands and Tom's. 694 00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:12,279 Speaker 1: They can also chuck supposedly differentiate human faces, so like 695 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 1: they can tell humans who are different based on their face, 696 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:21,759 Speaker 1: which is pretty smart if you ask me. Oh, totally. Um, 697 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:25,120 Speaker 1: they can be a nuisance if you like have a farm. Um, 698 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:32,160 Speaker 1: they're they're droppings can carry disease at times, but they 699 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:35,759 Speaker 1: you know, they're easily scared. Like you said, like there's 700 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:37,960 Speaker 1: a list of things and how to get rid of turkeys, 701 00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:41,880 Speaker 1: um that we came up with. Uh, well it didn't invent, 702 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,680 Speaker 1: but came up with from experts. They've been testing them 703 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 1: out all week and it seems like all of them 704 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:50,040 Speaker 1: are like you know, turkeys get scared super easily. So 705 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,759 Speaker 1: scare them off or if they're a real problem on 706 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:56,839 Speaker 1: your property, put up a uh a motion activated scarecrow 707 00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:00,279 Speaker 1: or water sprinkler or something like that. Um, any kind 708 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,200 Speaker 1: of loud noise, flailing your arms. I don't get rid 709 00:41:02,239 --> 00:41:04,799 Speaker 1: of turkeys. They just they they're scared of you. They 710 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,640 Speaker 1: want to get out of there. They're not aggressive. They 711 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,320 Speaker 1: can be intimidating if you're a kid because they're big. 712 00:41:09,719 --> 00:41:12,200 Speaker 1: But even a kid's gonna scare a turkey off. Yeah, 713 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:14,879 Speaker 1: they they are easy to scare off, but they can 714 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:18,279 Speaker 1: also be really intimidating and aggressive, especially if it's a 715 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,719 Speaker 1: tom during mating season. Um. So you're supposed to do 716 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,240 Speaker 1: the same thing to turkeys that you do to coyotes, 717 00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:26,960 Speaker 1: and it's called hazing, where you show them your dominant 718 00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:30,319 Speaker 1: and you can do it by everything from turning the 719 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:33,680 Speaker 1: hose on them, um, throwing a tennis ball in their 720 00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:36,680 Speaker 1: general direction. Opening umbrella is a big one. But you're 721 00:41:36,719 --> 00:41:38,839 Speaker 1: basically saying like, I'm not scared of you, and in fact, 722 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:41,759 Speaker 1: I'm going to scare you off. Because if you don't 723 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,719 Speaker 1: do that, apparently, then they become increasingly more difficult to 724 00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:47,680 Speaker 1: get rid of because they think they're dominant to you 725 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:50,719 Speaker 1: or say a family member. And if you combine that 726 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,440 Speaker 1: with somebody, whether it's you or a neighbor or something, 727 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:56,640 Speaker 1: feeding the turkeys or even letting them eat bird seed 728 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:59,520 Speaker 1: out of your bird feeder, Um, that's a that that 729 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,919 Speaker 1: that can be a problem, actually, especially if you don't 730 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,959 Speaker 1: like turkeys running at you. Yeah, and the other really 731 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:08,360 Speaker 1: cool fact about hazing as they say that, like everyone 732 00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:09,839 Speaker 1: in your family has to do it. If you want 733 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:11,919 Speaker 1: to solve your turkey problem, Like you've got to get 734 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:14,040 Speaker 1: if grandma lives there, she's got to get out there 735 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:16,439 Speaker 1: and haze that turkey. If you've got a four year old, 736 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:18,600 Speaker 1: you gotta send that four year old out there to 737 00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:21,880 Speaker 1: haze that turkey supervised, I would imagine. But like every 738 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:25,239 Speaker 1: person in that house has to exert their dominance. Yeah, 739 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:29,680 Speaker 1: exert it with extreme prejudice all over that turkey. Gross. 740 00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:34,279 Speaker 1: So um, I guess that's it. One thing I saw chuck. 741 00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:39,080 Speaker 1: For Thanksgiving today, eight percent of Americans will eat turkey, 742 00:42:39,239 --> 00:42:41,759 Speaker 1: which actually, which seems right, doesn't seem high or low. 743 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,759 Speaker 1: But get this, that translates to seven million pounds of 744 00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:50,360 Speaker 1: turkey on average, or forty six million turkeys all killed 745 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:54,359 Speaker 1: and eating on a single day today. Goodness me. And 746 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:56,640 Speaker 1: then that's a lot of turkeys. It's a lot of turkeys. 747 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,000 Speaker 1: Uh so, uh, if you want to know more about turkey, 748 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:04,600 Speaker 1: he's go watch some turkey and dog friendship videos and 749 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:07,200 Speaker 1: uh that might make you regret what you just had 750 00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:09,680 Speaker 1: to eat. And since I said that, it's time for 751 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:14,920 Speaker 1: listener mail. Uh yeah, and before listener mail, I just 752 00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:17,520 Speaker 1: want to close the window on the Vernon, Florida thing 753 00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:20,480 Speaker 1: if you uh don't know what I'm talking about. It 754 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:24,320 Speaker 1: was a documentary originally, and this fairly interesting. Errol Morris 755 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,240 Speaker 1: went down to this sleepy town, like I said, Inland 756 00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:30,920 Speaker 1: in the Florida Panhandle to do a documentary on these 757 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:34,200 Speaker 1: people that live there who would cut off their limbs 758 00:43:34,239 --> 00:43:37,719 Speaker 1: for insurance money. And that was they were. It was 759 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:41,200 Speaker 1: called stub Town was the nickname he went down there. 760 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,719 Speaker 1: No one would talk about it. Uh, And so he 761 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:47,480 Speaker 1: found himself down there without a documentary subject all of 762 00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:50,880 Speaker 1: a sudden, and so he just, after talking to these people, 763 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:54,239 Speaker 1: said well, this town is a documentary in and of itself. 764 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,040 Speaker 1: And he just turned the camera on the citizens and 765 00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:00,200 Speaker 1: there's probably like ten or twelve of them. It's sort 766 00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 1: of interviewed through the whole thing that that's cut together, 767 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:04,960 Speaker 1: and that's all it is is these people that live 768 00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:07,560 Speaker 1: in Vernon, Florida. Pretty cool. Yeah, I need to see 769 00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:10,359 Speaker 1: it one day. Yeah it is. It is a cult 770 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:14,480 Speaker 1: classic and a true documentary legend. It's really great. Uh So, 771 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,719 Speaker 1: listener mail, this comes from Erica. Hey, Josh, Chuck and 772 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:21,200 Speaker 1: Jerry listen to the podcast episode on fruit flies. I 773 00:44:21,239 --> 00:44:23,759 Speaker 1: want to say that Chuck's pronunciation of the word drosophila 774 00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:28,200 Speaker 1: is correct. That's rare. Having worked in a basic research 775 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:31,280 Speaker 1: laboratory for years, I've often pined for a science dictionary 776 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:35,440 Speaker 1: to help with pronouncing scientific terminology and nomenclature. For example, 777 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:38,319 Speaker 1: unless you chat with researchers on a regular basis, how 778 00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:41,320 Speaker 1: would you know to pronounce the gene b R c 779 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:46,000 Speaker 1: A one as bracca one and c d o as kiddo, 780 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:50,840 Speaker 1: while p D one is just p D one. I 781 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,640 Speaker 1: don't know how you would know. You wouldn't You need 782 00:44:53,640 --> 00:44:55,920 Speaker 1: to make smart friends, I think is what it comes 783 00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:58,120 Speaker 1: down to. That's right, And she says, as long as 784 00:44:58,160 --> 00:45:01,360 Speaker 1: we're discussing pronunciations, you mentioned in your episode on the 785 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:04,480 Speaker 1: US interstate system that Californians add the word the for 786 00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:06,759 Speaker 1: any freeway highway number. I've lived in the Bay Area 787 00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:09,640 Speaker 1: my whole life. I hesitate to generalize for all of 788 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,279 Speaker 1: northern California, but at least in the Bay Area. Most 789 00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:15,359 Speaker 1: people say things like the rest of the country one 790 00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:17,719 Speaker 1: on one highway one on one instead of the one 791 00:45:17,719 --> 00:45:19,920 Speaker 1: on one anyone who says the one on one is 792 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:23,479 Speaker 1: most likely from southern California. Got it? That makes sense? Yeah, 793 00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:25,520 Speaker 1: so I guess that is sort of that makes sense. 794 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:28,120 Speaker 1: It's an l A thing, right, Yeah, That's what I 795 00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:32,799 Speaker 1: always associated with for sure. So that is Erica. Well 796 00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:35,839 Speaker 1: thanks a lot, Erica. That um email is just chock 797 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:38,799 Speaker 1: full of info and we appreciate it big time. Thank you. 798 00:45:39,719 --> 00:45:41,360 Speaker 1: If you want to be like Erica and send us 799 00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:44,520 Speaker 1: an email chock full of info, we love them, you 800 00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:47,040 Speaker 1: can send it off to us at stuff podcast at 801 00:45:47,040 --> 00:45:52,719 Speaker 1: iHeart radio dot com. Stuff you should know is a 802 00:45:52,719 --> 00:45:55,840 Speaker 1: production of iHeart Radios. How stuff works for more podcasts 803 00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:57,759 Speaker 1: for my heart Radio because at the iHeart Radio app, 804 00:45:57,840 --> 00:45:59,920 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or where ever you listen to your pay 805 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:00,480 Speaker 1: at ships